LeBron James needed a comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, but that’s not much when you’re dominating Father Time like he is.
In the biggest comeback of his 21-season career, the Los Angeles Lakers superstar led a 21-point fourth-quarter comeback to stun his team’s crosstown rivals, pulling out a 116-112 win in thrilling fashion. James posted 19 points in that fourth quarter, including five 3-pointers and four assists.
He personally outscored the Clippers 19-16. Add in those assists and it was a blowout.
The Clippers, playing without All-Star Paul George, took a 98-77 lead to open the scoring in the fourth, then proceeded to slip horrendously on defense. The team didn’t seem to really mind giving up easy matchups to James, repeatedly soft-switching and getting punished for it.
Just watch how many times Norman Powell and James Harden, not exactly defensive heavyweights, are guarding James in this video:
With 11:45 left in the 4Q, the Lakers trailed 98-77.
Then LeBron TOOK OVER, scoring 19 in the quarter, including 5 triples, to lead the Lakers all the way back ‼️
Watch the takeover and the final minutes of the Lakers' comeback W 🍿 pic.twitter.com/rFS7WKroZZ
— NBA (@NBA) February 29, 2024
James kept making shots and the Clippers slowed down just enough on offense to open the door for the Lakers. Or, as James put it to ESPN:
“Keep executing. The game is not ever over until it’s double zeroes. We just kept fighting, kept getting defensive stops, made some shots.”
The Clippers debuted a new look on Monday, but it was an old story on Wednesday. The team still has an 11-7 record against James since he joined the Lakers, but it’s now lost three straight to him, all in comebacks. It blew a 19-point lead in November and a nine-point lead in January.
That is not exactly a way to end your tenure as Crypto.com Arena co-tenants. The Lakers and Clippers do not play again for the rest of the regular season. If they do not meet in the postseason, Wednesday will be the Clippers’ last “home” game against the Lakers at the arena before moving to their new Intuit Dome next season.
